Princess Mononoke
by darth rat
Summary: ON HOLD FOR NOW Novelized version of Princess Mononoke. Tried to stick as close to the script as I could. Rated T just in case. Please review.
1. Exile

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Princess Mononoke or it's characters.

**Chapter 1: Exile**

_In ancient times, the land lay covered in forests, where from ages long past, dwelt the spirits of the Gods. Back then, man and beast lived in harmony. But as time went by, most of the Great Forests were destroyed. Those that remained were guarded by gigantic beasts, who owed their allegiance to the Great Forest Spirit. For those were the days of Gods, and of Demons._

In lands far to the east of the forest, there was a small but peaceful village. Its inhabitants lived off the land and coexisted peacefully with the forest. On one fateful day that would change a young man's life forever, something evil crawled through the forest, slowly making its way to the village. Not far away, a boy of 17 years of age rode on a beautiful red elk through a series of trenches with a sense of urgency. His name was Ashitaka, and his elk's name was Yakuul. Ashitaka had a fair complexion, blue robes, and his hair tied back in a bun. His bun announced the fact that he was a prince. He encouraged his elk to go faster, and in a matter of minutes he encountered three little girls. They were his sister, Kaya, and her two friends. From his mount, he spoke to them.

"Girls! There's something strange going on. You have to hurry; the Wise Woman wants everybody back to the village at once."

Kaya had something to tell Ashitaka too. "We just came from Jousan. He saw something wrong in the forest."

The other girls chimed in. "The birds are all gone, and so are the animals!"

"I'll go to the watch tower and check with Jousan." replied Ashitaka. "Now you three hurry back home, and be quick about it!"

The girls nodded and ran off. Yakuul galloped with Ashitaka towards a tall watchtower that spiraled into the sky. Quickly dismounting, he bounded up the ladder that led to the top, leaving Yakuul at the base of the tower. Half way up the ladder, he saw a patch of blackness at one spot where his village met the forest. "Something's there…" he mused. He finished his climb and stood at the top, next to a old man. "Jousan, did you see it too?" he inured.  
Jousan nodded. "I did. It isn't human." He said gravely. Bellow them, Yakuul suddenly froze and looked at the forest. Then Jousan quickly turned his head and pointed a finger. "Look!" Ashitaka turned. A mass of despicable, writhing black tentacles had charged from inside the forest. It had glowing red eyes, and its tentacles formed legs that it used to propel itself toward the watchtower. Wherever it moved, the grass and trees died in its wake. "It's some kind of Demon!" Jousan exclaimed.

"A Demon?!" muttered Ashitaka, shocked. As Ashitaka was an excellent marksman, he quickly grabbed the bow he always carried and notched an arrow. Suddenly the Demon stopped. A sea of tentacles rose into the air, revealing a giant boar that howled in rage and pain. Then the mass of tentacles descended back upon the boar, and in resumed its charge towards the tower. Below, Yakuul was paralyzed with fright. "Run, Yakuul, run!" When that didn't spur the animal into action, Ashitaka fired a arrow into a post next to the elk, spooking him. Finally Yakuul ran just as the Demon boar slammed into the tower, toppling it. Just in time, Ashitaka grabbed Jousan and leaped off the tower and into the forest, saving both of their lives. After the tower was destroyed, the Demon turned and ran towards the village.

Ashitaka saw that, and he ran after it. Behind him Jousan called out to him. "Prince Ashitaka! Wait! Be careful, that thing is cursed, don't let it touch you!" Upon reaching the spot where the watchtower used to be, Ashitaka whistled for Yakuul. When he arrived, Ashitaka mounted him and chased after the Demon.  
By going through the woods, Ashitaka was able to flank the Demon. As it blindly charged towards his village, he managed to pull ahead of it, and he hoped to convince it to go away. "Calm your fury, oh might Lord, whatever you may be, God or Demon, please leave us in peace!"

But even as he was saying these words, the Demon stopped in its tracks and turned around. It had spotted Kaya and her friends. With a roar, it charged at them. Seeing this, Ashitaka urged Yakuul to go faster and pulled ahead of the Demon boar. "Go back! Please, leave our village alone! Stop, please! STOP!" he pleaded. But the Demon continued charging the three girls. To make matters worse, one of Kaya's friends tripped and fell. Kaya stopped to help her friend, and then saw how close the Demon was. Knowing she could not outrun it without leaving her friend, she pulled out a small sword in a futile attempt to defend herself.

Ashitaka had no choice. He pulled up right in front of the Demon and shot it point-blank in the eye with his arrow. The Demon squealed and stopped, charging, and then started pulsating. Before Ashitaka co away, tendrils shot away from the Demon and towards Ashitaka. While Yakuul was fast, Ashitaka could not get far enough away from the Demon. A tendril rapped around his arm, burning it. Crying out in pain, Ashitaka managed to get far enough away from the Demon that the tentacle lost its grip on him. As he turned Yakuul around he notched another arrow. When he looked at the Demon, it was mostly in the shape of the boar, and it looked back at him. Ashitaka fired his arrow straight into its already wounded eye. It stood upright for a moment, than fell down with a enormous crashing sound, and lay there dead. Ashitaka dismounted Yakuul and fell to his knees. The arm that had been touched burned, and it was the most painful sensation he had ever had. Kaya rushed over to him, but just then the Wise Women appeared. "You must keep away from him, all of you. Everyone stay back! That wound is evil. Kaya, pour this on his wound." She said, handing Kaya a jug of holy water. His wound was so hot that the water turned into steam when it hit is arm. The Wise Women walked over to the dead boar Demon, and spoke to it.

"Oh nameless God of Rage and Hate, I bow before you. A mound will be raised and funeral rights performed on this ground where you have fallen. Pass on in peace and bear us no hatred." She bowed to the corpse. Somehow, the dead boar managed to snarl back at her. "Disgusting little creatures. Soon all of you will feel my hate, and suffer as I have suffered …" with that, the skin and muscle melted off the boar, leaving only a skeleton and a mass of evil fluid mixed with blood.

--

That night, a meeting was held with the elders and council members of the tribe, the Wise Women, and Prince Ashitaka. The Wise Women spread out a variety of stones and took readings from them. Then she turned to Ashitaka.

"I'm afraid this is very bad. The stones tell me the boar God came from far to the West. He had some kind of poison inside him, driving him mad. A poisonous hatred that consumed his heart and flesh and turned him into a Demon monster. Prince Ashitaka. Show everyone your right arm."

Ashitaka proceeded to take off the covering that bound his right arm, and what was there shocked everyone. A jagged black and purple mark encircled, climbing almost all the way to his hand.

The people in the room gasped. "What's it mean?" asked one of them.

The Wise Woman turned back to Ashitaka. "My Prince, are you prepared to learn what fate the stones have foretold you?"

Ashitaka nodded: "Yes. I was prepared the very moment that I let my arrow fly."

She nodded back at him. "The infection will spread thought your whole body, bone and flesh alike. It will cause you great pain, then kill you."

One of the council members spoke angrily. "The prince got that wound from defending our village! Do we just sit here and watch him die?"

The Wise Woman spoke again to Ashitaka. "You can not alter your fate, my Prince. However you can rise to meet it if you choose. Look at this." From a pocket she withdrew a circular mound of iron. "This iron ball was found in the boar's body." She continued. "This is what hurt him so. It shattered his bones and burned it's way deep inside him. This is what turned him into a Demon. There is evil at work in the land to the West, Prince Ashitaka. It's your fate to go there and see what you can see with eyes unclouded by hate. You may find a way to life the curse. You understand?

Ashitaka answered. "Yes."

One of the elders spoke. "We are the last of the Emishi. It has been 500 hundred years since the Emperor destroyed our tribe and drove the remnants out our people to the East. Some managed to survive all these years, but the blood of our tribe has grown thinner and weaker with each generation. Now our last Prince must cur his hair and leave us, never to return? Sometimes I think the Gods are laughing at us."

Ashitaka took a knife from his belt and cut the bun of hair off. He gently placed it on an alter.

The Wise Woman spoke one last time. "Our laws forbid us from watching you go, Ashitaka. Whatever comes to pass now, you are dead to us, forever. . . . Farewell."

With that, Ashitaka slowly got up and walked away from the council.

--

After Ashitaka left the council room, he put on a hood and straw jacket. In the middle of the night, he took Yakuul from his stall and prepared to leave his beloved village. Before he could go, a little girl ran up to him. "Kaya, what are you doing here? You know its forbidden." he said.

Kaya rolled her eyes. "Do you think I care about that? I came to give you this so you won't forget your little sister." Ashitaka looked at what she was holding up to him. It was a small dagger on a string that reflected whatever light it could catch in a beautiful manner.

"Your crystal dagger. Kaya, I can't take this."

"Please keep it with you, brother, to protect you." Kaya begged. "You must take it with you, please, I want you to have it so you won't . . . forget."  
Ashitaka took the dagger and smiled at his sister. "Kaya, you know I could never forget you." And with that, Ashitaka left the Emishi village never to return.

--

For days Ashitaka and Yakuul traveled to the west, past uneventful valleys and plains. On the third day of journey, though, they cam across a village that was in flames. From far a way Ashitaka wondered, _a battle?_" As he drew closer, he could see that hundreds of samurai were slaughtering civilians, chasing them down even if they were not fighting. Ashitaka gasped. "No…a massacre."

Suddenly a group of Samurai spotted him.

"It's a warrior!" Ashitaka urged Yakuul into a gallop, and just barley dodged a hail of arrows. As he ran, he saw a Samurai about to stab a helpless woman. He put a arrow in his bow and shouted to the samurai. "You! Stop!" But the samurai did not listen to him. He felt anger welling up inside him. How could these people murder innocent, unarmed people? As he prepared to fire on the samurai, his cursed arm started bulging. _My arm. What's happening to me? _he wondered. As he let his arrow fly, it hit the samurai's arm and with unnatural strength pulled them off, sticking both of the arms to a tree. As he was trying to make his escape, a pair of samurai on horses saw him.

"Stop him! Hurry! Stop him before he gets away!"

Ashitaka put another arrow in his bow. "Let me pass! I'm warning you!" But obviously they paid no heed to his words, for a pair of arrows whistled past his head. As he let loose his arrow, his right arm bulged painfully again. This time, the arrow that he sot hit one of the samurai in the head, decapitating him. As Ashitaka disappeared into the forest, the other samurai stopped and looked at his headless comrade. "A Demon!" he muttered.

After the battle, Ashitaka went to a small river. He dismounted from Yakuul and took of the bandages from his right arm so he could wash it. As he looked at it, he noticed that the demon mark was getting bigger.


	2. A Monk

Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Mononoke or it's characters.

**Chapter 2: A Monk**

After escaping the fight with the Samurai, Ashitaka entered a small village to get more supplies. Unbeknownst to him, someone was waiting for him. In a small soup vender's stand a short monk named Jigo sat eating a recently purchased soup. His colorful comment, "Are you selling soup or donkey piss", announced the quality of his food. Jigo had a broad face with a big red nose. Looking at the crowd, he saw Ashitaka enter the village. "There he is now." He quickly finished the last of his soup and walked toward Ashitaka on a pair of crude wooden sandals with a peg underneath them, which he wore in an attempt to make him look a little higher.

After Ashitaka scooped rice into his bag from a woman who sold rice, he took out of his pocket a piece of gold that he had brought with him to pay for any necessities on his trip. "Will this be enough?" he asked, dropping the small nugget into the palm of her hand. After seeing what was in her hand, she angrily thrust her hand back towards Ashitaka. "Hey there! What are you trying to pull, this isn't money! Give me back my rice you little thief!" With those words a crowd formed, waiting to see what would happen. At that moment, Jigo walked through the crowd and placed himself in-between a angry merchant and a confused Ashitaka. "Excuse me, but may I examine that?" Jigo said. "Go ahead." said the rice lady.

Jigo took the nugget and squinted his eyes. Then they popped wide open. "My God! But this is a lump of pure gold you silly woman! However if it's money you want I'll pay for the rice and take this nugget off your hands. What do you say? My good people, is there a money changer who can tell us how much this is worth?" Without waiting for a reply, he continued. "No? All right. Now I'm just a monk, but I'd say, three bags of rice at least. That's right, maybe even more!" As the crowd gasped and murmured. Ashitaka walked off. Jigo started after him. "Hey, wait a minuet, where you going?" His progress was stopped as the rice lady grabbed Jigo's hand and pulled him back towards her. "Where are you going, gimmie my gold!"

As Ashitaka rode Yakuul out of the town, Jigo hurriedly ran to catch up with him. As soon as he was next to Ashitaka he stared speaking. "Hey, what's your hurry? You can't just rush off now! We've only just met! We have got your rice and everything's fine. Your a man of few words, I understand. Well, don't you even think of thanking me, it was my pleasure. In fact I should be thanking you, really. You see I was caught in that battle. I saw what you did to those Samurai, you fought like a Demon! Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

As they walked on, he saw Ashitaka turn his head. Behind them were a group of three men with knives and swords. Jigo smiled. "I see you noticed we're being followed. That's what we get for waving that gold nugget around. They'll wait till we're asleep and then they'll slit our throats. What do you say we give them a little demonstration of how fast we can run, huh?" With that Jigo took of at a almost impossibly fast rate for someone of his stature. The would-be thieves stopped and sighed.

At dusk Ashitaka and Jigo made camp in what appeared to be a cave. Over a fire and bowls of rice, Ashitaka told Jigo his story. "So, the Demon monster turned out to be a giant boar." Jigo said. Ashitaka nodded. "I followed its trail Westward, through the mountains, to where the Samurai were attacking those villagers, but then-"  
"You lost it." Jigo finished for him. "That's life. See this place here? When I came here last, a few years back, this was a lovely little village." Ashitaka looked around the cave, and he saw what did in fact look like the ruins of some buildings. "But then there must have been a flood, or a landslide, or a fire." Jigo continued. "The only sure thing is that everybody's dead. These days, there are angry ghosts all around us. Dead from wars, sickness, starvation, and nobody cares. So you say your under a curse? Well, so what? So's the whole damned world."

Ashitaka dropped his head. "I was wrong to fight in that village. Two men are dead because of me."

Jigo snorted. "Samurai thugs. You win some you lose some. Here, hand me your bowl. My point is that everybody dies, boy. Some now, some later. From Brothel girl to Emperor. I've heard them say, that the Emperor has promised an an entire hill of gold to anyone who can help him live forever. . . . That's a beautiful bowl. I've only ever seen one other like it. Have you ever heard of the Emishi people? They're said to ride Red Elks. They also use stone arrowheads just like you. Of course they were all wiped out 500 years ago. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone where you're from. Anyway I've got bigger fish to fry."

Ashitaka took the ball of iron that was taken from the Demon boar's body and showed it to Jigo. "Have you ever come across anything like this before? Jigo looked at it. "Never have." Jigo lied.

It came from the giant boar." Ashitaka said. "It was inside him, and I'm sure it was this little ball of iron that killed him." Jigo grunted in agreement. After a moment he said "There's a place high in the mountains far to the West of here." He said. "It's where the Spirit of the Forest dwells and it's a very dangerous place for humans. To enter there is certain death."

Ashitaka leaned forward. "The Spirit of the Forest?" Jigo nodded. "I've been told the beasts there are all giants, just as they were in the dawn of time. . ."

Ashitaka said nothing. They finished their dinner in silence. The next morning, when Ashitaka thought that Jigo was asleep, Ashitaka mounted Yakuul and rode off to the West. After he had disappeared from sight. Jigo opened his eyes and said "See you there my friend." Then he went back to sleep.


	3. First Sight

Disclaimer: I still do not own Princess Mononoke or it's characters.

**Chapter 3: First Sight**

Not so far to the west of Ashitaka, herds of oxen traveled along a steep path that curved around a mountain. It was dark and wet up there, and the oxen drivers whipped their rice-carrying beasts in an effort to keep moving. Scattered around various points of the caravan were people holding what appeared to be large sticks wrapped in paper to keep them dry. They also had small umbrellas over them in a further attempt to keep whatever was under them from the rain that was pouring down. Under one of the umbrellas stood a big hulk of a man, and next to him was an elegant looking lady. The man did not look very smart, but he was certainly tough looking. The lady however, had seemingly delicate features. She was wearing a rain jacket and an elegant red hat, and she radiated an aura of authority. Her name was Lady Eboshi, and she was the leader of Iron Town. Her big bodyguard was Gonza. Right now, she was supervising the caravan of rice-laden oxen and also guarding them against a much greater threat than any avalanche or slippery roads. Not pleased with the progress of the caravan, she yelled at them. "The sooner we get this rice home the sooner we eat. Let's move!"

Just as the oxen started to increase their pace, a warrior ran over to Lady Eboshi. "Coming this way! Wolfs!"

Winding their way up the path was a pair of big blue-white wolfs. On one of their backs rode a small figure that was hunched over to protect itself from the winds. It wore a wolf pelt over its body, and had a frightening mask over its face, with two fake ears poking out on top.

Even as the wolfs approached, the men under the umbrellas unwrapped their sticks and pointed them in the general direction of the wolfs. They were holding guns. "Stay calm, take up your positions!" Lady Eboshi ordered. The first round of bullets exploded around the wolfs, but did no damage. Eboshi waited a second before giving her next order. "Second round, fire!" This time, the bullets struck so close to their target that the wolfs and their rider had to have been pelted with shrapnel. The wolfs suddenly peeled off and retreated.

Gonza smiled an overconfident smile. "That was it? They weren't so big." Eboshi turned to him. "They're just pups. Wait till you see their mother."

Not so far away, Ashitaka heard a loud booming noise from a mountain above him, and wondered what it meant.

Suddenly all the oxen stopped, as if frozen in fright. The soldiers and ox drivers looked around, trying to find the source of the disturbance. Then, without any warning, a pure white wolf jumped out from over a cliff. She was huge, able to fit a man's body in her jaws, and had two magnificent white tails. Her name was Moro, and she was the wolf goddess. As she knocked both ox and drivers off the cliff, she settled her sights on Lady Eboshi. _Finally _the wolf goddess thought. _I will kill her. _Although she did not know it, similar thoughts were working their way through Eboshi's mind. As soon as she spotted the goddess she cried out "It's Moro!" As Moro charged her Eboshi brought out a more advanced looking rifle than any of her soldiers carried and aimed it at Moro. "Come on." she muttered. Finally when there were no more obstructions in sight, she fired her gun. The bullet pierced Moro's chest and found its way deep next to her heart. She ignored this, and continued on her quest to kill Eboshi. She very well might have if it weren't for Gonza. At point-blank range he fired his gun. Instead of firing a bullet, his weapon spat flame on to the goddess. Her once pristine white fur streaked with soot, Moro tumbled over the cliff.

Gonza laughed victoriously. "Ha ha! We got her!" Without turning to him Lady Eboshi said "You forget she is a god. It will take more than that."

Looking around at the wreckage of the convoy, Gonza was amazed. Some oxen were lying dead or injured on the mountain pass, and many more had gone over the cliff. It was a disaster. Gonza whistled. "She certainly did a lot of damage." Eboshi nodded. "We'll move out now." she said. With that, she started walking away. Gonza followed her, protesting. "But what about the men she pushed over the cliff?!"

"They're dead. Lets get the living home" she said coldly, and continued walking. In these lands, Lady Eboshi's orders were law.

As Ashitaka rode through the forest, he came upon a stream. Intending to get some water for further travel, he came across a bundle of rice floating along the stream. It wasn't long before more wreckage floated down. It was then that he noticed a body that had lodged itself between a pair of rocks. He did not know it, but it was one of the rifle men from the cliffs. Ashitaka dropped down and listened. _He's still breathing_… "Hang on." he said, as much a reassurance to the badly injured soldier as it was to himself. He pulled the soldier out of the stream and lay him down next to Yakuul. Next here returned to the stream where he spotted an ox driver. He pulled the ox driver out of the water and lay him down next to the rifleman. The ox driver looked like he would be okay, but Ashitaka was worried about the rifleman.

Just as he was going to figure out what to do with the people he just rescued, he heard a noise from farther up the river. He walked upstream and hid behind a dead tree. When he peaked out, he almost gasped in astonishment. What he saw was a huge white wolf with two tails. It obviously had a wound in its side. As he watched, two light blue wolfs walked into the clearing. While the three wolfs were an amazing sight, what really took his breath away was the girl who rode on one of the smaller wolfs. She was wearing a fur on her back, and a mask was draped over the fur. She immediately ran over to the wolf goddess and sucked blood from the wound. Then she spit it on the ground. Then she repeated the process. On her third time, the wolf goddess growled and looked directly at the place where Ashitaka was hiding. The wolf-girl looked at him too. As he took in her features, he found himself short of breath. She was about his age, and a little shorter than him. She had an unusual hair color, which was a very dark green. She wore it short, and a small headband kept it in place. She had large brown eyes, a small nose and a perfectly oval face. On that face she had three long, red triangular tattoos that resembled fangs. She wore a simple purple dress with a raggedy white shirt over it. She had two large shell earrings on, and they flashed and some how rang when she turned around to face him. Her necklace that she wore had wolf's teeth on it, and she carried a long dagger in her left hand. Ashitaka couldn't believe it. She was so wild looking, yet so beautiful. As she faced his hiding spot, she deliberately spit her mouthful of poisoned blood on to the ground and wiped her face with her hand, leaving a smear of blood across her mouth. Her narrowed eyes conveyed just as much hostility as the wolf goddess's snarl did. Gathering his strength, he stood up and spoke to the wolfs.

"My name is Ashitaka. I've traveled far from lands to the East. Are you ancient Gods and have I at last come to the realm of the Spirit of the Forest?" As he stood, hoping for a reply, the wolf goddess got up and walked off into the forest. The wolf-girl jumped up on the back of one of the smaller wolfs. Before she left, she spoke two words to him. "Go away." And then she rode back into the forest. Disappointed, Ashitaka headed back towards the wounded men.

In the forest, following her mother and riding on her younger brother, the wolf-girl couldn't get the boy she had seen face out of her head. After a minute, she shook her head. _Why am I thinking about him? He's just a filthy human. No different than the rest of them._ Yet she couldn't get his face out of her mind.


	4. Forbidden Forest

Don't own it.

**Chapter 4: Forbidden Forest**

**Had to cut a few lines that just did not work, including the idiot who yells "Is it the wolf girl?"**

As Ashitaka walked back from his encounter with the wolves, he heard a scream. He ran towards the two injured men, and found the ox driver cowering and trying to crawl away from a branch. On that branch sat a tiny green sprit who lived in the forest. It was a Kodama, about the size of Ashitaka's hand and occasionally it would turn its head to one angle and then began shaking it's head, making an click-click-click sound. Ashitaka reached to it, for he had seen them many times before at his home. "A Kodama! I never thought I would see one of them here…"

The ox driver freaked out, and started waving his ands in the air and at the same time trying to crawl away. Ashitaka smiled. "Easy there. You don't want to make your injuries worse do you? He's a tree spirit. He brings good luck. It's a sign that the forest is healthy."

But the ox driver was not reassured. "But they'll lead their Lord and master right to us!" Ashitaka was puzzled. "Who do you mean? You mean those Wolves I just saw?" The ox driver shook his head so vigorously that Ashitaka was half worried it would fly off. "No, I mean a real monster!" he babbled. "Like a huge, enormous deer! Except they say it's got a human's face sometimes, and then at night they say it-Ahhh!" Ashitaka sighed. He had seen another Kodama. Then the Kodama disappeared. The ox driver looked around franticly. "Where'd it go?! Ahhh! Look! Reinforcements! We're doomed!"

Ashitaka looked at Yakuul, who had one standing on his saddle. The elk did not seem afraid at all. "If Yakuul's not afraid, then we have nothing to worry about here." Ashitaka said. The ox driver was still panicking. Ashitaka ignored him. "Would you be kind enough to grant us passage through you're forest, little one?" Ashitaka asked. In response, one of the Kodamas started waling along a trail. Putting the ox driver with the broken arm on Yakuul and carrying the badly wounded rifleman on his shoulders, the four travelers started to make their way into the forest.

Throughout the journey, the ox driver, who told Ashitaka that his name was Koroku, kept panicking whenever a Kodama appeared. "Ehhh. . .sir I really think we should turn around now. I wonder, did I ever mention that no humans have ever made it through these woods alive? There's a lovely trail back across the river." Koroku said. "The current is to swift for us to get across. And your friend's injuries are very bad. If we don't get him back soon he doesn't have a chance." Ashitaka replied.

The journey was not an easy one. Ashitaka had to stop ever minute to catch his breath. Even though his training to be an Emishi prince had been rigorous, carrying over 140 pounds of weight while having to be gentle was not an easy task. They found that most of the Kodamas were heading to a big, old tree. "Look at that." Ashitaka said. "That must be their mother. A fine old tree."

As the travelers stepped into a clearing, Ashitaka gasped. In front of them was a huge, pristine marsh. "This place is magical." Ashitaka remarked. As he looked around, he noticed impressions on the soggy ground. There were wolf tracks, ranging in size from as big as his hand to as even larger than his head. There were also small tracks. They were human.

"The tracks of those Wolves and the girl with them. This place must be where the four of them live." Ashitaka said. On Yakuul, Koroku fidgeted nervously. "Sir I think maybe we took a wrong turn somewhere? This is a place for Gods and Demons."

Ashitaka smiled "I think we're safe. We'll rest a bit." He put the wounded solider on the ground and went to the water to fill up his bowl. As he bent down, he noticed a tiny pillar of rock just of the shore. There was a deer-like track, and butterflies swarmed around it. As he looked underwater, he noticed more of the same tracks. "Whatever made these made them recently." he muttered softly. He looked around, and at first he saw nothing. But then, far in the distance, he saw a golden light. Silhouetted against the light was a herd of elk slowly walking by. Then what appeared to be the last elk in the herd stopped and looked at him. It had an amazing set of antlers. Suddenly his arm started to bulge and writhe. He cried out in pain and grabbed his cursed right arm with his left arm. It still didn't stop. On Yakuul, Koroku noticed. "Sir! What's going on?! Are you all right?!"

Ashitaka could stand the pain no longer. He thrust his arm in the water. And was relived when the pain stopped. When he looked back up, the elk-like creature was still looking at him. Slowly, it looked way and walked out of sight. The golden light faded. Ashitaka refilled the bowl with water and walked slowly over to Koroku and the rifleman. When he got there, Koroku spoke to him. "Ah sir, what just happened there? You went white as a sheet all of a sudden. I warned you about this place." As Ashitaka helped the rifleman drink some water, he asked Koroku, "Did you see anything just then?" Koroku looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Like what?" "Forget it." Ashitaka said. Turning back to the rifleman, he said, "Hang on just a little longer, your almost home." When he was finished drinking the water, the rifle man managed to mutter, "I've failed her…" Ashitaka looked back at the spot where the golden light had come from. There was nothing there. "It's gone. Whatever it was."

As Ashitaka neared the edge of the forest, still carrying the rifleman on his shoulders, he noticed something. "That's strange." He mused. "Suddenly he doesn't feel heavy at all." As the group parted through the brush, they came to the edge of the forest and stepped out. Seeing what lay ahead of them Koroku laughed in joy. "Sir you were right! We made it back home just like you said!" Seeing what Koroku called "home", Ashitaka was astounded. "It's a fortress. . ." he muttered.

Across the river from them, there was a huge hill with a giant wood wall that encircled it. It also had a very large main gate, with a balcony at the top. The main feature of the town was its enormous bellows, which was used to make iron. He also saw that part of a mountain that lay next to the town was being razed to the ground, along with the forest that accompanied it. Steam pored out of the bellows, and crowds passed in and out of the gates. Ashitaka had never seen anything like it.  
"It's Lady Eboshi's Iron Town." Koroku explained. "We make iron here from the ore in the sand." As they walked along a field that bridged between the forest and the river, Koroku spotted some fishermen he knew. "Hey there! Look, it's me!" Koroku shouted. The fishermen turned towards the sound of the voice. "Someone's coming out of the woods!" Grinning and laughing like a maniac, Koroku shouted, "Look it's me! Koroku the Ox Driver!"

After the fisherman had recovered from their shock, they immediately gave Koroku, Ashitaka, Yakuul, and the wounded rifleman a ride across the river to Iron Town. At the other bank of the river, villagers had heard of Koroku's return. The new spread quickly, with cries of "It's Koroku! Koroku's alive! He's alive! Let's go see!" A group of rifleman that had been escorting the convoy the day Koroku fell off heard the news too. "It's true, Koroku's alive!" one of them yelled, and they all streamed down to the river banks. An irritated Gonza growled at the mass of people surging by the building he was in. "Quiet! Stop that noise!" he shouted. "I'm trying to tally these accounts here, so shut up!" One of the villagers took the time to speak with Gonza. "But haven't you heard? Koroku's come back from the dead!" "What!?" Gonza exclaimed.  
As Ashitaka stepped off the boat, dressed in his traveling outfit and hood, the riflemen immediately took their wounded comrade and rushed him off to get medical help. Koroku was swarmed by villagers asking questions. "This is unbelievable!" one man said. "Where are the others, Koroku?" another villager asked. An old man approached him. "Yes! Is my son with you?" Koroku's happy expression faded. "I'm afraid we're the only one's who made it." He said.

Before any more questions could be asked, Gonza pushed his way through the crowd and toward Ashitaka. "It's never the guards that die." remarked one woman when he was out of ear range.  
Gonza and his two elite guards looked at Ashitaka. "That man in the weird costume sir. Who do you think he could be?" one of the guards whispered to Gonza. "He's obviously an outsider."

Koroku was telling everyone of Ashitaka's good deeds while he was being treated for his arm. Listen to me everyone! This stranger saved our lives! He carried the Rifleman all the way back! You should be grateful to him! Augh! Hey, watch the arm!"

"Hold it right there!"

Ashitaka turned around and saw a very suspicious and overly paranoid Gonza. "I'm very grateful to you for bringing these men back to us, stranger. But something doesn't smell right. You got back here almost as fast as we did and through the Forbidden Forest! On top of that you did it with two badly injured man and you want me to believe that you-"

"Koroku! You alive!" everyone turned and saw one of the girls that worked in the bellows running towards him. She wore a simple and loose red kimono and had her hair wrapped in a towel to keep ash from getting stuck in it. "Toki, my love!" But instead of an embrace, Toki skidded to a halt just in front of him. "That's just great!" she said angrily when she saw his broken arm. "How are you ever going to drive the oxen now all banged up and mangled!?"

Koroku blushed. "But my little flower-" "You scared me half to death!" Toki yelled at him. "Don't you little flower me! I wish the Wolves had eaten you! Then maybe I could have found a real husband!" Koroku cringed as the crowd around them giggled. "Sweetness, can we discuss this later?" Gonza interrupted them. "Toki, save your sweet nothings for some other time!"

Toki angrily paced over to Gonza. "And as for you, Gonza! A fine captain of the guard you are! Always strutting and throwing your weight around once the dangers OVER! You never do a lick of work around here!" "That's unfair and untrue!" Gonza sputtered.

Toki turned towards Ashitaka and spoke to him in a gentle voice. "Thanks, stranger. My husbands an idiot but I'm glad he's back safe and sound."

"That's a relief. I was starting to think I've done something wrong by bringing him back home." Ashitaka joked. Toki looked at him for a minute, deciding if he was joking or not, and then laughed. "Say, why don't you take the mask off? I bet you're really handsome."

Before Ashitaka could figure out how to respond to that, he heard a very calm and collected voice coming from the main gate. "Gonza? Bring the stranger to me later. I would like to thank him personally." It was Lady Eboshi. She was wearing a beautiful red kimono with a royal purple long-sleeved jacket over it. "Koroku." She said, turning to the broken-armed ox driver.  
Koroku and all the villagers' eyes around him widened. "Ah, uh, yes?" he stammered.  
"I'm happy your back. And I apologize." She said. "Ah, ok." Koroku managed to get out.  
Toki turned towards Lady Eboshi. "Uh oh my Lady. You really shouldn't tell him things like that. If you're too nice to him he'll walk all over you!"

Eboshi spoke to Toki. "I hope you'll forgive me too, Toki. I was responsible; I should have never let it happen." Toki dismissed her last statement with a smile. "Oh that's all right. My Lady, if you hadn't been there the Wolves would have eaten everyone one and we would _all _have to find ourselves new husbands." All the ladies accompanying Eboshi laughed. Eboshi spoke to Ashitaka again. "Get some rest, traveler. I will see you this evening." As a reply, Ashitaka took off his hood and bowed to her. When Toki saw his face, she leaned in closer to him. "Wow, hey! Your not handsome, you're GORGEOUS!"


	5. Iron Town

Disclaimer: nope, not mine.

**Look at movie, scribble. Look at movie, scribble. Ah well. The lyrics for the song is in not in English, obviously. I could only find literal translations for English, and they sounded too weird. I also had to add a few lines to the dialog to describe Nago.  
**

**Chapter 5: Iron Town**

As day turned to night, the last of the villagers returned to Iron Town through the main gate

As day turned to night, the last of the villagers returned to Iron Town through the main gate. When they were sure that the last of the villagers were in, a crew of ten soldiers worked hard to gently close the main gate. If it was not lowered manually and fell all the way from its open position, it would hit so hard that it would be smashed off its hinges. The rice that had been brought back from the caravan that was attacked by wolves was dished out, and the men went to cafeterias and sat on the floor, eating, laughing, and boasting about how none of them had been scared of the wolves, although they all had been terrified at the time. A group of about 20 women gathered around the cafeteria Ashitaka was sitting at, chattering and laughing.

"Toki was right. He is handsome!" one of them said. "Yeah, no bet!" another agreed. "But he's so young!" one of them exclaimed. "That never stopped you before!" another countered, and they all burst out laughing. Inside one of the men spoke angrily to them. "Quiet out there! We lost some good men today." "Yeah! There's lots of gorgeous men in here honey!" another joked.  
One of the women snorted. "I've seen cattle that look better!" she said. They turned to Ashitaka. "Listen stranger," one said. "why don't you come over to our place? You don't want to stay in this stinking old bar." The same man who had previously shouted at the women did so again. "Look woman! We risked our lives to bring you the rice you're all eating tonight. So watch your mouth!"  
The women turned angrily to him. "And who made the iron that paid for that rice? Huh? Tell me that." "Yeah, we're pumping those bellows while you pigs are in bed!" another said.  
Ashitaka turned his head to look at them. "Actually, if it's not too much trouble ladies, I would like to see where you work." he said. The women all gasped. "You would?" one said. "We'll have to work in make-up tonight!" another joked. As the walked off, Ashitaka could here them yelling "Don't forget now. We'll be waiting!"

After the women were gone, one of the men spoke to Ashitaka. "It's best not to pay them any mind you know. Lady Eboshi spoils them rotten, that's why they're like that."  
"Well, they say that happy women make a happy village." Ashitaka replied.

One of the men barked out a laugh. "Happy! Huh! Those kinds of women, working here?! Women like that, it's a disgrace! They defile the iron! The Lady Eboshi goes around buying every contract of every Brothel girl she can find."

"My Lady has a kind heart, that's all." An old man said. "And you got rice on your chin, old man." Another said, and the whole group started laughing. "Well it's true!" another man said. "Everything here has turned upside down since she showed up!"

That's right!" another affirmed." She's not even afraid of the Gods, that woman. Why you should have seen the way she dealt with Nago. Am I right?"  
"Who's Nago?" Ashitaka asked.  
One of the men barked out a laugh. "Who's Nago?! The gigantic boar God! He used to rule this whole forest! We couldn't even get near the mountains with him around. Nothing to do but sit around on our backsides for months, staring at a bunch of angry boars."

"Mm-hm." Another man said. "See, the iron in the sand under this town had all been dug out. So then we tried to get at the iron under the mountain, but Nago wasn't going to stand for that."  
"The problem was that before we could dig for the iron we had to clear away the forest. And that's what made the boar angry." Another man said. "Hundreds of boars would charge us, led by Nago. We even shot him with flaming arrows, but he just shook them off like they were flies!" another person said.  
"Then one day, Lady Eboshi came along with her warriors and her rifles." Another man added. "She shot them with her guns, set fire to the forest and drove them all away!"

Ashitaka's right arm began to throb painfully. He realized that Nago was the boar who turned into a Demon. Some of the men noticed him holding that arm with his other hand. "Young man, what's wrong? Is something hurting your arm?" "No." Ashitaka lied. "I was just thinking about the boar God. I was thinking of how he must have died filled with hate." No one knew what to say to that.

Later that night, Ashitaka stood before Lady Eboshi. Now that he was closer to her, he could see how beautiful she was. Her red kimono had patterns of yellow fans on it, with exquisitely detailed light blue bases for the fans. It probably cost the equivalent of a year's wages for an ordinary worker. Her long overcoat settled gracefully on her shoulders, and had a beautiful hem. She had her face painted very pale shade, and her beautiful black hair was tied back with a pink ribbon, with bangs on the sides of her face. Her bright red lips and oval eyes stood out on her pale face. Thin and delicate eyebrows made her face even more astounding. While she was quite beautiful and certainly attractive; indeed, she probably could have any man in the town if she wanted to. But Ashitaka was not attracted to her. Her organized beauty paled in comparison to the more wild beauty of the wolf girl. Ashitaka also could feel that she was accustomed to getting what she wanted, and would demand no less.

She sat on a step in a private room, lightly tapping on a lump of iron that Gonza had brought her with a chisel. After inspecting it for a minute, she said, "That's good iron." She handed it back to Gonza. She wrote down the quality of the iron in her log book, and then she turned her attention to Ashitaka. "Forgive me for keeping you waiting stranger. We were running behind with tomorrow's shipment." Over her shoulder she spoke to some of her girls that were holding more iron to be inspected. "Let's have a rest. You may tell the others." The women nodded. "Yes ma'am." they said, and walked away. Now it was just Ashitaka, Gonza, and Eboshi. Now that they were mostly alone, Eboshi talked to him in a calm but slightly inquisitive voice. "Some think you're either a spy for the Wolf girl or Lord Asano and his Samurai." She said. "There are a lot of people out there with their eye on this iron. Why are you here, if you don't mind my asking?"

Ashitaka thrust his right arm forward and pulled off the make-shift bandages he had made to cover the Demon mark. To her credit, Lady Eboshi did not gasp or show any reaction to the cursed arm, except to look at it with narrowed eyes. With the same hand, he pulled out the iron ball that had been recovered from the Demon boar. "I believe you'll recognize this." He said to her. "It shattered the bones of a giant boar, rotted his flesh and turned him into a monster. I fought with him and for that I was cursed with this mark on my arm. And soon it will kill me."

Lady Eboshi turned to him. "Where is it you come from?" she inquired curiously. "I've never seen a Red Elk like that before." Knowing that he could not endanger his tribe by letting someone know that they still existed, he said "I have come a very long way. I can't tell you more than that." Gonza, being his usual irritable self, roared "Answer my Lady's questions or I'll cut you in half!" Both Ashitaka and Eboshi ignored him.

"What do you plan to do?" Eboshi asked. "What exactly are you here for?"  
"To see with eyes unclouded, by hate."  
Eboshi smirked at him "Eyes unclouded?" she said with a bit of disbelieve. And then she laughed at him. Her laughter may have been the only unfeminine thing about her. It was more of a cackle than anything else. After she stopped laughing she stood up. "That explains it." She said. "Come, I'll show you all my secrets." Gonza was confused. "Is that wise My Lady?" Without looking back, she ordered "Gonza, take over for me." Gonza growled in frustration.

As Lady Eboshi and Ashitaka walked past the streets of Iron Town, Ashitaka saw many people hammering away at chunks of iron, trying to split them. After that, they passed the furnace. It was where the iron was melted, and where the former brothel girls worked. They each stood at opposite ends of what looked like a giant see-saw. Holding on to a rope dangling from the ceiling, they would brace one knee above the bellows and use the other leg to push. Ashitaka would have stayed and watched more, but he had to follow Eboshi.

As they walked farther, the number of people and the volume of noise decreased to the point that it was almost silent. They came across a doorway with two guards sitting on either side of it. "This is my garden." Eboshi said. "None of the townspeople dare to come here. Follow me if you wish to learn my secret." Ashitaka followed her through a passage in the serene garden and to a little house at the end of the path. Eboshi nodded to a bandaged person who sat outside the house. "Good evening." She said, and walked inside.

About ten heavily bandaged people where hammering away or deftly assembling parts for guns. A few had so many bandages that their mouth and eyes had bandages on them, and a lot of them had bandaged hands. Ashitaka wondered just what was going on with these gunsmiths.

"We've only just finished it my Lady." one of the less heavily bandaged gunsmiths said, offering her a new gun. Eboshi held it for a moment. "It's still too heavy." She said. "Perhaps if you didn't hold it so delicately?" the lady who gave Eboshi the rifle said. "My Lady, if we make them any lighter they'll fall apart." joked another of the bandaged figures.

"I trust you to figure it out." Eboshi said. "They're not for me. They're for the other women here." Eboshi held it up in a firing position and pulled the trigger, making the _click _sound of an empty gun. She chuckled. "That will be something to see." Eboshi turned to Ashitaka, displaying the rifle. "This is the latest rifle that I've asked these people to design. The one's we brought here have turned out to be too heavy. These will kill forest monsters AND pierce the thickest Samurai armor."

One of the bandaged gunsmiths turned to Ashitaka. "You'd better watch out there, young man. The Lady Eboshi wants to rule the world."

"I'm sorry to have to push you all so hard. I'll have wine sent down later." Eboshi said in a gentle voice. "Oh, that would be nice." one of them said.

Ashitaka felt anger growing inside him. "First you steal the boar's forest from him then transform him into a Demon. Now you're making even deadlier weapons. How much more hatred and pain do you think we need?!" he yelled.

Eboshi looked away. "Yes, I'm the one who shot the boar. And I'm sorry that you suffer, I truly am. That brainless pig, I'm the one he should have put a curse on, not you." At those words, Ashitaka felt a pulsing in his cursed arm. Suddenly, without his control, it reached over to his sword with lighting speed and almost managed to pull it out of its sheath before he stopped it with his other hand. The gunsmiths cried out and cowered in fear. With great effort, he pushed it back into its sheath. Still in her usual very calm but low voice Lady Eboshi said "Does that right hand of yours wish to kill me now, Ashitaka?"

"If it would lift the curse, I'd let it tear you apart." Ashitaka managed to grit out through clenched teeth. "But even that wouldn't end the killing, now would it?" Eboshi shook her head. "No it wouldn't. It would have to kill all of us to be at peace."

Before this conversation could continue any further, one of the heavily bandaged men spoke. "My Lady, Gosa has something to say." In a corner lay a man wrapped in a straw blanket. He was completely covered from head to toe in bandages, and his face was not visible. "Forgive me, my Lady," he said in a pained voice, "but you must not make light of the boy's strength. Young man, like you I know what rage feels like, and grief and helplessness. But you must not take your revenge on Lady Eboshi. She's the only one who saw us as human beings. We are lepers. The world hates and fears us, but she, she took us in, and washed our rotting flesh and bandaged us." Gosa started coughing. "Gosa. . ." another leper reached over to comfort him. Ashitaka now realized that the only people in this room that were not lepers were Lady Eboshi and himself. Gosa continued. "Life is suffering. It is hard. The world is cursed but still you find reasons to keep living. I'm sorry, I'm making no sense."

As Ashitaka and Lady Eboshi stood upon a balcony above the leper's gun-making room, a howl echoed and rebounded through the barren landscape that had been purged of trees by Lady Eboshi. This was the view that Ashitaka and Eboshi were able to see. Eboshi snapped a fresh cartridge into the new gun, lifted it up, and fired. With amazing accuracy, the ball of iron exploded right in the middle of a group of apes that had been gathering on one part of the hill.

"Oh, they just keep coming back." Eboshi said, depositing the used cartridge in a basket and placing a new one in the rifle. "Every night they're out there planting trees. Trying to turn the mountain into a forest again." She turned around to face Ashitaka. "Stay here; help me kill the Forest Spirit, Ashitaka." Ashitaka looked at her in disbelief. "You would do that? Kill the very heart of the forest?"  
"Without their ancient Gods the animals here would be nothing but dumb beasts once more." She looked out at the mountain. "When the forests have been cleared and the Wolves wiped out this desolate place will be the richest land in the world. And Princess Mononoke would become human."

Ashitaka turned toward her. "Princess Mononoke?"

"The Princess of the spirits of ghouls, beasts, and ancient Gods." Eboshi answered. "The Wolves stole her soul and now she lives to kill me." An image of the beautiful girl and the wolves flashed through his mind. "The legends say the blood of the Great Forest Spirit can heal anything." continued Eboshi. "Perhaps it can cure my poor lepers." She mused. "Might even be able to life your curse, Ashitaka."  
From the leper's hut one of the gunsmiths called up to them. "My Lady? How does the action feel to you, better?" "Smooth as silk." Eboshi answered. "The perfect thing for ruling the world. But it's still too heavy for the girls." The leper laughed. "All right."

As Ashitaka walked back from his talk with Lady Eboshi, he neared the Iron Works. As he approached he could hear beautiful music wafting from the open doors of the bellows.  
_Hitotsu futatsu wa_  
_Akago mo fumu ga_  
_Mittsu yottsu wa_  
_Oni mo naku naku_  
_Tatara no onna wa_  
_Kogane no nasake_  
_Tokete nagarerya_  
_Yaiba ni kawaru_  
Remembering his promise, he walked inside and headed towards the bellows. As he neared a group of women, including Toki, who were recovering from their bellow working, the girls noticed him. Some of the girls hurriedly tightened up their loose kimonos. "Well, look who's here." she said. "Evening." Ashitaka said, taking off his shirt, revealing powerful muscles. He kept his arms wrapped to hide the Demon mark. "All right if I work the bellows for a while?"  
"Uh, well, I guess so." Toki said, flustered. Ashitaka walled up behind two of the girls. "Excuse me. May I try it?" he asked. The two women looked at each other, blushing. The women on the left was trying desperately to keep her tan kimono, which she wore very loose for bellow work, as it was all girls who worked here, from becoming undone. Toki walked up to them. "It's okay. Might as well let him try. The girl on the right stammered "Bu-but . . ." as Ashitaka took her position and imitated the other workers. But he had overestimated the strength he needed to work and the girls on the other side of the bellows went flying as their end came up faster then they had expected. They all laughed and had a good time. Toki and a couple other women walked up to him. "When you get tired I'll take over for you." one said. "Well, that won't be long." Toki said. The worker to his right desperately tried to tuck her kimono under her leg and over her arm. "Whoops! Better keep that kimono shut tight, girl!" another said, and they all burst out laughing. After watching Ashitaka work for a minute, Toki said, "I'm impressed, but you'll never keep that pace up."  
"Its hard work, isn't it?" Ashitaka said. "You bet. Toki said. "And our shifts are four days long." Ashitaka worked for a moment, and then said, "You must lead hard lives here. "I suppose. Yeah." Toki said in a carefree voice, "But it sure beats working a Brothel in the city, huh?" "Mm-hum. Here we can eat as much as we want. And the men don't bother us!" another said. "Unless we want em' to!" one of the group said, and they all started laughing again.

Not far from Iron Town, on a barren part of the mountain, apes stepped aside as two blue-white wolfs made their way along a path, their eyes gleaming green in the moonlight. Where ever they stepped, chitterling mice ran away. Sitting atop the lead wolf was the Princess Mononoke, also known as the wolf-girl. She carried a spear, and had her mask pushed up to the top of her head. They stopped as they reached the end of the path and looked down at Iron Town. She regarded it with hate and disgust. One of the wolves growled and the Mononoke absentmindedly scratched her brother's nose. Then she pushed her mask down on her face and pushed her wolf skin coat over her shoulders. It was time to pay a visit to Iron Town.

After an hours work, Ashitaka had to leave. At the door, he was surrounded by a group of pleading women. "But you can't leave tomorrow!" "Can't you stay a little longer?" another one pleaded. "You can stay and work here." one offered. "Thank you all but there's someone I have to find out there in the forest." Ashitaka said, thinking of the beautiful Princess Mononoke.

At that time, the Mononoke was rushing down the hill towards Iron Town, spear in her right hand and battle mask securely fastened on her face. Inside Iron Town's walls, Ashitaka somehow sensed her. He looked at the giant walls that encircled the town. "She's here."

**It would be a cliffhanger, but you've already seen the movie (at least I hope so). Please Review.**


	6. The Wolf Princess Attacks

I wish I owned it...

**One of my two favorite parts! :)**

**I also used the names Mononoke, wolf girl, Wolf Princess, etc. because I could not choose which sounded better. Just saying this for clarification. R&R **

**Chapter 6: The Wolf Princess Attacks**

Up on one of the guard towers a rifleman saw a spot of white dashing across a crevice and moving toward the outer wall of Iron Town. On closer examination, he saw that it was the Mononoke with her two wolves. He picked up a hammer and began furiously banging it on a piece of metal that hung from his tower, alerting all of the guards. "The wolves are coming! It's the Wolf Princess!" Other riflemen took up positions. One of them aimed his gun at the Wolves and thrust his burning flint into his gun. With a roar the projectile sped out of his gun. With his gun and her speed it was impossible to hit, but it gave the position to other riflemen. The Mononoke pointed her long spear at the walls of Iron Town. Dashing down the U shaped canyon and dodging bullets the wolves sped towards the walls. Tongues lolling out of the sides of their mouths, they reached the bottom. One of the wolves broke off, and the one the carried the wolf girl continued and ran up the depression. To prevent anyone from climbing the walls, there were rows of spikes that extended out from the base of the walls, making it impossible to run over. The wolf that carried her slammed into the spikes hard enough to break three of them. But the impact threw the wolf-girl into the air. It was a sight to behold, clay mask on her face and wolf skin pulled worn on her back, its tail flapping in the wind. Her momentum carried her most of the way up the wall. She jabbed her spear into the wall, and used it to jump over what was left of the wall. She landed right next to one of the riflemen. Even though he was stunned his training too over. He used the long butt of his rifle like a bat, swirling around and trying to hit her, but all he did was slice through mid air. The wolf girl had dodged behind him. She withdrew an extremely long and exquisitely detailed dagger. She swung it with lighting fast speed and cut the rifleman's gun in half, and kicked him off the wall. Even as he fell she jumped off the wall and on to the roof of a house, narrowly avoiding the explosions that followed her.

She ran along the roofs of the houses until one of the shots landed right next to her. Rolling with the explosion, she jumped and landed on a street. Right next to Ashitaka. He had been running ahead of a search party, and was surprised to see her land right in front of him. He quickly backed away as she started swinging her dagger at him. He had to draw his sword to stop her from killing him. "Stop! Wait! I don't want to fight you. I'm a friend!" he said, desperately trying to parry her blows. From behind her mask she saw his face. _It's him._ The thought stopped her for a second, and she backed off as one man ran out from behind Ashitaka and swung a flaming torch at her. She jumped on the roof of a house and ran off again. As Ashitaka stood there, still stunned, the men all started running towards the middle of the town. "Hurry, she's after Lady Eboshi!" one of them yelled. Ashitaka used a nearby pile of wood to jump on top the roof of the house she had just walked over. He took the same route as she had, albeit more clumsily, and ran after her as she reached to forge and scuttled to its top. He followed her and managed to make it onto the forge. But by the time he got a third of the way up he had lost sight of her.

At the square Gonza was dishing out orders. "Riflemen to the stockades! We've got her right where we want her!" At various points around the city, people started handing out swords to everyone within sight. Some people were dressed in night clothes, and some of the men had been roused so quickly that they were only wearing loin cloths. "A weapon for every man! Everyone defends Iron Town!" one of them yelled. In the forge, Toki and a few other women stood at one of the doors with weapons of their own. A woman ran up to Toki. "Toki, she's on the roof!" Upon hearing that, the women working the bellows gasped and started to panic. "Now don't get exited." Toki said in a commanding voice. "Keep those bellows working. Whatever happens we can't let those fires go out.

Lady Eboshi and Gonza were standing in the main square. She was dressed in her kimono and long jacket, and unusually she was using a cane. "Is she alone?" she asked. "Yes. She can't escape. We have her cornered." he said. "You know she means to kill you this time."

"We'll see about that. Come on." As she walked to the center of the square two women followed her. One was about average size and wore a white kimono with triangle patterns on it, while the other one was short and stocky. They both carried heavy guns. Gonza looked surprised as they followed her into the square. "Make room for milady!" he ordered. Eboshi stopped in the middle of the square. One woman stood at her left side, the other on her right. She looked up at the forge. "Can you hear me Princess of Beasts?" she said. "If it's me you want, here I am. If you seek revenge for all the animals we've killed, well there are two women down here whom I'd like you to meet. They want revenge as well. For husbands killed by your wolves."

"Come on out you little witch! My husband's dead because of you!" the taller woman yelled out in a pained voice. Suddenly at the top of the forge she stood up. Ashitaka gasped. There she stood, the wind pulling her headdress back and flapping her purple skirt in the wind. Down at the square people started moving. "Out of the way!" Gonza ordered. "Riflemen, get ready to fire!"

From his vantage point on the forge Ashitaka saw groups of riflemen training their guns on her. _It's a trap._ "No! Wait!" he yelled to the wolf-girl. "Princess of the Wolf gods, don't go down there! Go back to the forest!" She stood on the forge, impassive. "Listen to me, please! Don't throw your life way!" he pleaded. Back down next to Eboshi, Gonza asked "Shall I stop him?" She shook her head. "Leave him be. Let him do what he likes." "But-" Gonza started to protest, but he was interrupted by a noise. It was the howl of a wolf. From his point on the roof, Ashitaka wondered what it meant. Was it an order? Was someone telling her what to do? He didn't have time to ponder about that. The Mononoke slowly raised her dagger. Than she started to scuttle down the roof, right towards Lady Eboshi. He ran on a course to intercept her, but the riflemen fired first. One volley hit just in front of Ashitaka, sending splinters flying with enough speed to draw blood, and forcing him to stop. The other shots hit behind the wolf princess, sending her into a tumble down the roof.

"She's down! We got her!" Gonza laughed, and started charging forward. "Stay back." Eboshi ordered. Gonza turned around to her with a puzzled expression on his face. "Cut off a wolf's head and it still has the power to bite." Gonza reluctantly moved out of the way. "Take aim where she falls." She said coolly to the two widows. "Right."

As Ashitaka watched her tumble down, he knew he had to stop the townspeople from killing her. He crouched down next to one of the beams that made up the roof. Using the power from his Demon arm, he slowly managed to bend it…and then with an explosive crash it came free.

As the wolf girl reached the edge of the roof and fell ten feet. She landed in a crouch. She slowly stood up, dagger in hand.

"Open fire!" Eboshi ordered. The two women lit their guns and fired. One shot hit behind her, but the other one hit the wolf girl's face, shattering her mask into hundreds of pieces. She fell backwards and landed on the ground, unconscious. Her earrings flashed. Gonza cheered and ran forward with a group of villagers towards her prone form. "No! Stay back!" Ashitaka yelled and threw the beam of wood. It hit a lamp right in front of Gonza, and he skidded to a halt and looked around. "What the devil was that?!" Taking advantage of his momentary confusion, Ashitaka jumped off the roof and ran over the wolf girl's body. "Wake up." he said, shaking her shoulders. He eyes popped open. Without thinking, she swung her dagger forward. Ashitaka jumped back just in time to escape being killed by her blow. The blade did make a deep cut that would leave a scar. She continued slashing at him, forcing him back. She dodged to the side of him and ran at Gonza. "No!" Ashitaka yelled. Gonza drew his long sword and swung at the wolf girl. She easily dodged it by jumping. She landed on his face and stepped on it, disorienting him. She used his face to jump over the crowd and towards Eboshi. With a battle yell, she charged Eboshi, as the two widows hastily ran away. Eboshi stood there, unmoving. As the wolf girl closed on her and thrust forward with her dagger, Eboshi suddenly whipped off her jacket and lifted her cane, revealing a long, thin sword. She used that to block the dagger, while she withdrew a poniard, a thin needle like knife, and swung it at the Mononoke, cutting off a few of the white hairs from her battle dress. Surprised, the wolf girl jumped back into a crouch, avoiding two slashes from the cane-sword. She used her dagger to block two more blows, and then she attacked Eboshi, thrusting her dagger forward, her green hair flying around wildly and a feral glint showing in her brown eyes. Eboshi dodged to the right and then to the left, avoiding both that thrust and another soon after, and then used her long, thin blade to slash in an overhand strike, missing. As they continued fighting, the townspeople circled around them, waving their weapons and shouting "Skin her milady, kill her!"

Away from the fight, Ashitaka lowly stood up. About twenty feet from him, Gonza was crouched on the ground with his long sword buried in the dirt, rubbing his head. Two men were at his side, trying to help him. "Are you alright sir?" one of them asked. Gonza, frustrated and irritated at his defeat, snapped at them. "Get away from me, be gone!" Yes sir!" they whimpered, and ran off. A breeze ruffled Ashitaka's hair, and his right fist tightened. He withdrew his sword and started calmly walking towards the fight. Gonza turned around and saw Ashitaka, his sword in his left hand, and ghostly tentacles enveloping his right arm. "Traitor. You're a spy for the wolves, aren't you?!" Gonza accused, drawing his long sword and pointing it at Ashitaka. "Stay back!" Ashitaka kept walking at the same pace, and using his cursed right hand he grabbed the tip of Gonza's blade, bending it up and over. "Halt!" Gonza cried out, as Ashitaka fully bent his blade into circle. "Step aside." Ashitaka said softly, the last of the tendrils temporarily leaving his arm and wrapping around the sword. As Ashitaka walked past him, Gonza stared at the vanishing tendrils on his ruined sword and started babbling incoherently.

Back at the fight, still cheering and shouting, the townspeople did not at first notice that people in the back ranks started flying. The cheering stopped as people looked on in astonishment as Ashitaka broke threw the ranks of spectators and shoved everyone in his way aside. Eboshi and the wolf girl were so absorbed in their fight that they never noticed Ashitaka walking towards them at his same, regular pace. As both Eboshi and the wolf girl attacked each other Ashitaka stepped in between them and blocked them in mid blow, his right hand grabbing the arm of the wolf girl and her knife, and his sword blocking Eboshi's cane sword. The wolf girl struggled desperately, using her free hand to free herself, but to no avail, for his Demon arm was much stronger than her.

"What do you think you're doing, boy?" Eboshi spat down at him. "Stay your hand, the girl's life now mine." he said, struggling with the effort to keep Eboshi's blade blocked. The wolf girl snarled and bit his arm. The cursed arm did not feel any pain. "I'm sure she'll make a lovely wife for you." Eboshi said sarcastically. "There's a Demon inside of you. It's inside both of you." he said. Suddenly the ghostly tendrils started to form around his right arm. The wolf girl let go of his arm and tried to jump back. Ashitaka addressed the crowd. "Look everyone! This is what hatred looks like. This is what it does when it catches hold of you. It's eating me alive and very soon now it will kill me." The wolf girl was desperately trying to wipe the tendrils off of her arm. "Fear and anger only make it grow faster."

"I'm getting a little bored of this curse of yours Ashitaka." Eboshi said. "Just let me cut the damn thing OFF!" She swung her poniard at Ashitaka's face. He dodged and hit her in the gut with the blunt end of his sword, knocking her unconscious. The crowd gasped. The wolf girl was still struggling to get away, but Ashitaka drew her in and hit her in the stomach, silencing her as well. "Lady Eboshi!" cried the tall widow. Ashitaka stood up, with both Eboshi and the wolf girl over his shoulders. The ghostly tendrils vanished. "Someone come here and take her from me." he said. After a moment, one of the former brothel girls dropped her weapon. "Milady!" she cried, running over to her. About ten other girls followed her. Ashitaka helped them get her off of his shoulder. "Don't worry. She's just stunned. She'll be all right." he reassured them. Sheathing his blade, he pulled the wolf girl over both of his shoulders into a carrying position, with her legs over his right shoulder and her head over his left. Turning to the crowd he announced, "As for me, I'm leaving. And I'm taking the wolf girl."

There was a commotion in the crowd. It was the taller widow with a gun. "Oh no, you're not! Nobody treats my Lady Eboshi like that!" she said, hurriedly reaming her gun and holding it in a firing stance, pointed at Ashitaka. "Move and I fire!" Ashitaka just looked at her, and started walking away. The crowd parted, letting Ashitaka through. She was still aiming her gun at Ashitaka, but its barrel was visibly shaking. After a moment an older woman turned to her. "Kiyo, what are you doing?" Kiyo jerked at the sudden noise and accidentally pulled the trigger. Everyone around her shrieked as the bullet left the gun and hit Ashitaka just bellow the heart with so much force that it exited without loosing any velocity. Ashitaka jerked, but remained on his feat, the Demon power keeping him from falling. The crowd, including Kiyo, who was lying on the ground to the unexpected recoil, stared at him. "How can he still be walking?" one asked. Ashitaka, seemingly unaffected by the bullet, walked past a recovering Gonza who was still holding his broken sword. Breaking his temporary paralysis, he ran to the group of villagers. "Is she all right?" he asked. "Yes, milady's safe sir." Gonza turned around and started giving orders. "Someone bring me my gun! Riflemen to the square now on the double! They're not getting out of here alive!"

As Ashitaka continued his trek to the gate, Yakuul managed to get out of his stall and follow him. Some of the bellows girls noticed him walking by. "Toki, come here." As Toki stepped outside, she noticed Ashitaka's injury. Blood was trickling down his chest from his wound, staining his blue outfit dark red. "What happened?" Toki asked, but she got no reply from Ashitaka. Looking down at the ground, Toki gasped. Large puddles of blood dripped out of Ashitaka as he walked by. Ashitaka walked on and came before the giant gate. All the citizens of Iron Town stood stunned by the sudden events. One man moved to stop Ashitaka. "The gates have been ordered shut. They can't be opened!" he said. Ignoring him, Ashitaka walked up to the gate and put his right hand on it. Two guards moved to block him. "Turn back, please." one of the riflemen said. "We're grateful to you for brining those men back to us. We don't want to hurt you."

"I walked in through this gate this morning." Ashitaka said. "Now I'm going to leave the same way." Ashitaka took his right hand and put it against the gate and used his demon strength. leaning into it. "Don't be a fool. It takes ten men to open these gate." one of the guards said. Ashitaka ignored them and kept pushing . His blood was flowing out of him at a copious rate. So much blood pooled at his feet that he began to slip. One of the villagers looking in horror at the pool of blood shouted, "Stop it, you'll kill yourself!" Ashitaka only pushed harder. To everyone's surprise the gate moved a bit. As he pressed harder, it opened enough so that he could fit through.

Gonza and his riflemen dashed though the streets and headed to the gates. As the gate opened even more, two blue-white wolves came running, headed straight for the gate. "The wolves are attacking!" Gonza yelled, swinging his rifle around in a move that knocked all of his troops to the ground. Then he noticed he was missing something. "Flint!"

"It's all right, your princess is safe with me." he said. Both of the wolves halted just outside the gates, snarling furiously. "Stay and I will bring her." he cried out. "Come on Yakuul." he said, bringing his faithful friend out of Iron Town. Once he was outside, he turned to the crowd. "You have my thanks." he said, and let go of the gate, letting it slam down. As most of the people just stood were they were, stunned, one of them spoke up. "Good luck, stranger." he said.

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